Presentation to AREPO’s General Assembly

Konstadinos Mattas presented the Strength2Food project and key findings from his team’s work on the PDO Zagora apple at the recent AREPO General Assembly. AREPO is a network representing 31 European regions and over 700 associations engaged in Geographical Indication production. At its General Assembly, held in Thessaloniki on the 5th March 2019, Prof. Mattas gave an overview of Strength2Food’s work on measuring the economic, social and environmental impacts of quality food schemes before presenting the case of the Zagora apple. The Zagora village is the “apple capital of Greece” and its apples were the first to gain Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the EU. The PDO is managed by the Agricultural Cooperative Union of Zagora-Pilio, which has 700 members and who produce 13,000 tonnes of apples per year. Prof. Mattas presented evidence of the high local multiplier effect and other economic benefits of the PDO compared with non-certified apples in Greece. The Secretary General Mr. Gomez underlined that their organization AREPO welcomes and strongly supports the detailed analysis of Europe’s GIs undertaken by the Strength2Food project.